Blog Archives

Entire Google Photos Album Governor’s Island Ride Sixth ride of the season and the first time we have ventured to Governor’s Island! Considering that the ferry to Governor’s Island departed every hour, we left Beacon as soon as we were…

Google Photos Gallery First word of the day: Ornithology late 17th century: from modern Latin ornithologia, from Greek ornithologos ‘treating of birds.’ derives from the ancient Greek ὄρνις ornis (“bird”) and λόγος logos (“rationale” or “explanation”) Definition: the scientific study…

Google Photos Gallery First word of the day: Beacon Old English bēacn ‘sign, portent, ensign’; related to beckon Definition: a fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal, or celebration Second word of…

First word of the day: Eureka! early 17th century: from Greek heurēka ‘I have found it’ (from heuriskein ‘find’) Definition: a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something, “I have found it!” Second word of the…

Entire Google Photos Album First word of the day: Community late Middle English: from Old French comunete, reinforced by its source, Latin communitas, from communis Definition: A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic…

Google Photo Album Word of the day: Aqueduct mid 16th century: from Latin aquae ductus ‘conduit,’ from aqua ‘water’ + ducere ‘to lead.’ Definition: an artificial channel for conveying water, typically in the form of a bridge across a valley…

Google Photo Album Word of the day: Pollution late Middle English: from Latin pollutio(n-), from the verb polluere Definition: the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects Intro Lesson:…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Cormorant from Old French cormaran, from medieval Latin corvus marinus ‘sea raven’ Definition: a large diving bird with a long neck, long hooked bill, short legs, and mainly dark plumage. It…

Google Photo Album Word of the day: bicycle mid 19th century: from bi- ‘two’ + Greek kuklos ‘wheel’ Definition: a vehicle composed of two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars…

Google Photos Album Word of the day: Borough Comes from the Old English word “burg”, which means town or walled fortress Intro Lesson: Because we had to quickly get downtown to make the 11:30 Staten Island ferry, we made the…

Google Photos Gallery Word of the day 1: Beacon A guiding or warning signal by light or fire, especially one that is high up in the air Word of the day 2: Palisades Stakes, a line of steep cliffs along…

Google Photo Album Word of the day: Museum A building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. Intro Lesson: Today's ride was to Van Cortlandt Park! The park is named after Stephanus Van…

Word of the day 1: Exploration The act of exploring and traveling to new places in order to learn about different people, communities, etc. Word of the day 2: Eureka “I have found it!”, comes from the Greek work heureka…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Aqueduct From the root “aque” meaning “water”, combined with the root “ducere” meaning “to lead”. Hence, an aqueduct is a channel for directing water. Intro Lesson: The riders had already learned about…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Pollution Presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. From the root “pollueur” meaning to soil, defile, contaminate. Intro Lesson: The word…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Community A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. From the Latin root “communis” meaning common, public, general, shared by all or many. Intro…

Google Photo Album Word of the day: Marginalization Margin = edge, border (like the margin of a piece of lined writing paper) Intro Lesson: Today’s ride was to Roosevelt Island! The word of the day was “marginalization.” Marginalize, in a…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Ecology The branch of biology that deals with the relationship between living things and their environment. From Greek "oikos" -> "eco" meaning "house". Intro Lesson: In the morning, we gathered the students…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the day: Bicycle from Greek bi = two + kýklos = wheel Intro Lesson: In the morning, all the students grouped in a classroom at the Beacon School. Celeste drew a map of…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the Day: Borough Old English: burg = town, walled fortress Intro Lesson The final ride of the season began with a lesson about boroughs from our co-leader Katie. Cyclopedians learned that borough means walled fortress,…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the Day: Pollution (n.) – the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Latin: from polluere: to soil, defile, contaminate Intro Lesson: We…

Entire Google Photos Album Bronx River Ride All-Stars Word of the Day: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Root – “communis” meaning common, public, general, shared by all or many…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the Day: community – a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Root – “communis” meaning common, public, general, shared by all or many Starting with…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the Day: Marginalize (verb): to confine to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing Intro Lesson: Roosevelt Island, Randall and Ward Islands, Rikers Island, North Brother Island…you may have heard…

Entire Google Photos Album Word of the Day: Marginalize (verb): to confine to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing Intro Lesson: Roosevelt Island, Randall and Ward Islands, Rikers Island, North Brother Island…you may have heard…

Google Photos Album Intro lesson: Practice Our crew is ready to roll! Today Cappy and the Communitology interns set out on a tour of Randalls/Wards Island to see what we can see and practice our mapping and photo skills in…

Google Photos Album Intro lesson We’ve been labeling boroughs this whole season, but on this last ride of the season we finally explored the term. Borough means, walled fortress, and the boroughs we’ve been labeling function as fortresses around the…

Google Photos Album Intro lesson We’ve been labeling boroughs this whole season, but on this last ride of the season we finally explored the term. Borough means, walled fortress, and the boroughs we’ve been labeling function as fortresses around the…

Google Photos Album Word of the day Pollution (n.) – the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Latin: from polluere: to soil, defile, contaminate Intro Lesson: We started off, as…

Google Photos Album Word of the day Pollution (n.) – the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Latin: from polluere: to soil, defile, contaminate Intro Lesson: We started off, as…

Google Photos Album Intro lesson What does explore mean? “to find things!” “to walk around!” were some of the answers shouted out by the Hot Wheelers during the morning lesson. Juleon introduced our trip today, where the Cyclopedians learned that…

Google Photos Album Intro lesson What does explore mean? “to find things!” “to walk around!” were some of the answers shouted out by the Jumpstreeters during the morning lesson. Juleon introduced our trip today, where the Cyclopedians learned that they’ve…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson Today, the Hot Wheelers started off with a talk about about what community means to them. There was a sweeping consesus that the people around you constitute your community. We talked about how communities can come together…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson Today, the Jump Streeters started the day talking about what community means to them. Saije said she thinks about her neighbors and their shared neighborhood; we all agreed that sharing constitutes a big part of…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson Roosevelt Island, Randall and Ward Islands, Rikers Island, North Brother Island…you may have heard of one or all of these NYC islands, but do you what they have in common? Today, the Hot Wheelers learned…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Roosevelt Island, Randall and Ward Islands, Rikers Island, North Brother Island…you may have heard of one or all of these NYC islands, but do you know what they have in common? Today, the Jump Streeters…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: We started out the day with some geography talk. The bikers took turns labeling “North”, “East”, “South”, and “West” as well as the boroughs on a map of NYC. We were super anxious to finally…

Intro Lesson: We started out the day with some geography talk. The bikers took turns labeling a map of NYC with compass directions and the boroughs. We were super anxious to finally get out on the road. Today, we explored…

Ready to Roll?: Our third year in East Harlem is imminent and we’ve got a lot of momentum to see us through a fantastic summer season. We moved to our summer home at M.S. 114 (while our old school undergoes…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Staten Island, the “forgotten borough,” is geographically much closer to NJ than the rest of NYC. But we didn’t forget! And it’s not too far for our intrepid crew–this trip completes our sweep! Word of…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Staten Island, the “forgotten borough,” is geographically much closer to NJ than the rest of NYC. But we didn’t forget! And it’s not too far for our intrepid crew–this trip completes our sweep! Word of…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The Newtown Creek forms the western portion of the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Since the early days of European settlement it’s been host to industrial sites along its banks. No surprise, then, that it’s…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The Newtown Creek forms the western portion of the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Since the early days of European settlement it’s been host to industrial sites along its banks. No surprise, then, that it’s…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Our ride today was to the retired John J. Harvey fireboat along the Hudson River in Manhattan. The boat was originally designed in 1931 to be a powerful asset for fighting fires on boats and…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The lesson of the day was focused on the word “community.” Community comes from the word communis, which means “common, public, general, or shared by all or many.” We discussed the meaning of community as…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The lesson of the day was focused on the word “community.” Community comes from the word communis, which means “common, public, general, or shared by all or many.” We discussed the meaning of community as…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Is graffiti a form of art or is it vandalism? The lesson today focused on graffiti. We defined graffiti as markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted or sketched on a wall or other…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Is graffiti a form of art or is it vandalism? The lesson today focused on graffiti. We defined graffiti as markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted or sketched on a wall or other…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: What use is a bicycle? Today we discussed the differences between riding a bicycle, walking and driving. The kids noted that when they ride in a car, the things they notice most are what’s inside…

Google Photos Album It’s Finally Here! The First Week of the Summer Season!: That’s right cyclists! The week we’ve been preparing for is here! On Monday we headed down to P.S. 198 (The Beacon School) to find some adventurers adventurers…

Google Photos Album Bicycle Repairs Today we were faced with the daunting task of fixing all of our bikes from last season! But we had awesome help, so the time flew by! Cappy’s cousin Justin (you may remember him from…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Staten Island, the “forgotten borough,” is geographically much closer to NJ than the rest of NYC. But we didn’t forget! And it’s not too far for our intrepid crew–this trip completes our sweep! Word of…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Inwood is the northernmost neighborhood in Manhattan (almost–read ahead to learn more…) and one of the most interesting from geographic, ecological and historical perspectives. The hills of Inwood park contain the oldest growth remaining on…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Today we had the great pleasure to visit the John J. Harvey, a retired fireboat docked along the Hudson. From the JJH website: “Built in 1931, MV John J. Harvey, at 130 ft and 268…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Last week we rode to the Manhattan side of the High Bridge, which was constructed as an aqueduct to carry water from the Croton Reservoir to Manhattan. It is the oldest bridge connecting Manhattan to…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The Newtown Creek forms the western portion of the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Since the early days of European settlement it’s been host to industrial sites along its banks. No surprise, then, that it’s…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The High Bridge was constructed as an aqueduct to carry water from the Croton Reservoir to Manhattan. It is the oldest bridge connecting Manhattan to another land mass (the Bronx), and the only one restricted…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Today we learned about light houses and why their beacon of lights are necessary. We also learned Miss Kara’s dog’s name is Beacon because she lives next a lighthouse. Makes sense! Word of the Day:…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Today we learned about Typhoid Mary and her stay in the sanitarium on North Brothers island. Typhoid Mary had the chronic version of typhoid fever, but she spread it to many people, who developed acute…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: 5 Pointz History The graffiti wall located in Long Island City (LIC) is the premiere graffiti mecca of the world. The wall is located on a factory building that houses 200 local artists, creating the…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Randall’s/Ward’s Island. Today we learned about the long history of Randall’s/Ward’s Island. Orginally they were two separate islands but now they are connected with Little Hell Gate representing where they used to be separated. Word…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Avenue A. Did you know that Avenue A runs all the way up to the Upper East Side? Yes, really. It’s just called Sutton Place, York Ave, and Pleasant Ave. (These names sound “prettier” than…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Exploration. Last time we talked about a bicycle having advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that it can take you farther than walking; in the spirit of exploration we headed to the East…

Google Photos Album Learning to Ride: With our first bike ride with Cyclopedia just seven days away, we got three kids out there today to brush up on their bike riding skills. Calvin, Destinee and Jasmine came out and met…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: What good is a bicycle? Our riders had several opinions: bicycles are faster than walking but slower than driving; they’re cheaper than driving but more expensive than walking; they’re better for the environment than driving,…

Google Photos Album Extra Practice: The day before our first official day of the summer season we took Calvin out on a trial ride over the pedestrian bridge to Ward’s Island. Great weather–our heat wave finally broke–but we worked up…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: The power of bicycles. On the first two days we discussed the pros and cons of bicycles compared to walking or driving. Bicycles are cheaper than cars, but more expensive than walking. Bicycles take you…

Google Photos Album Intro Lesson: Exploration. Yesterday we talked about a bicycle having advantages and disadvantages. How does it compare to walking or driving? One thing it’s good at is letting you explore, because you can go farther than walking,…